WASHINGTON, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will anchor his presidential campaign in Philadelphia, state of Pennsylvania, his campaign announced on Thursday.
"Philadelphia is a thriving city and a testament to the American spirit, built by the ingenuity and tenacity of ordinary people who did extraordinary things," Greg Schultz, Biden's campaign manager, said in a statement.
"Its storied history and celebrated diversity will serve as an inspiration for Team Biden, and is the ideal setting to continue our fight for the soul of this nation," Schultz added.
The announcement came two days before a major rally to be held by Biden at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Saturday.
Democrats and Republicans both view Pennsylvania, which has 20 electoral votes, as one of the most important battlegrounds in the 2020 race.
According to a poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University, Biden leads incumbent President Donald Trump by 53 percent to 42 percent in Pennsylvania among registered voters.
Biden, 76, formally announced his bid for the Democratic nomination for U.S. presidency late last month and held his first rally as a candidate in Pennsylvania's Pittsburgh.
Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Biden was the U.S. vice president from 2009 to 2017. He represented state of Delaware in the Senate from 1973 to 2009, during which he was a longtime member and former chair of the Foreign Relations Committee.
After the vice presidency, he launched the Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
